Abstract
This chapter provides an overview and critical analysis of the mandates of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. It notes significant challenges to the capacity of the first two to protect human rights in the context of government assault on these NHRIs. In the case of Timor-Leste, while the Provedor’s office has received good ratings from the international accreditation body, it nevertheless faces challenges in following through on complaints and its recommendations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abhisit, V. Prime Minister of Thailand. 2009. Thailand’s Commitments, Voluntary Pledges and Contributions to the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Election to the Human Rights Council for the term 2010–1013, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 2009.
Ashayagachat, A. 2016. Thai rights agency downgraded by international body. Bangkok Post 28 January. Accessed on 2 February 2016. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/843412/thai-rights-agency-downgraded-by-international-body.
ANNI Report (2015) Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.
Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI). 2010. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Bangkok: Forum Asia. Available at https://forum-asia.org/2010/ANNI2010_TEXTONLY.pdf.
———. 2011. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Bangkok: Forum Asia. Available at https://forum-asia.org/documents/ANNIReport2011.pdf.
———. 2012. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Bangkok: Forum Asia. Available at https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=15570.
———. 2013. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Bangkok: Forum Asia. Available at https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=16848.
———. 2014. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Forum Asia and ANNI. Available at. https://www.forum-asia.org/uploads/books/2014/ANNI%202014%20FINAL.pdf
———. 2016. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Forum Asia and ANNI. Available at https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=21790.
———. 2017. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Forum Asia and ANNI. Available at https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=25246.
———. 2018. ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Forum Asia and ANNI. Available at https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=25246.
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). 2009. Thailand: New NHRCT chief promises to ensure that human rights body is meaningless and irrelevant, August 20, 2009. AHRC-STM-174-2009.
Burdekin, Brian. 2007. National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia-Pacific Region. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Bünte, M., and Dressel, B. (Ed.). 2017. Politics and Constitutions in Southeast Asia. London: Routledge.
Byrnes, Andrew C. and Durbach, Andrea and Renshaw, Catherine. 2008. Joining the Club: The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, the Paris Principles, and the Advancement of Human Rights Protection in the Region (May 26, 2008). Australian Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 63–98, 2008; UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2008–39. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1397466.
Commission of Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP). 2010. Annual Report for 2010.
———. 2017a. Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on the PHP 1,000 budget allocation of the House of Representatives for the Commission, Press Statement, 12 September. http://chr.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/12-Sep-2017-Statement-of-the-Commission-on-Human-Rights-on-the-PHP-1000-budget-allocation-of-the-House-of-Representatives-for-the-Commission.pdf.
———. 2017b. CHR concerns over President Duterte’s Remarks against UN Special Rapporteur, Human Rights Defenders, Press Release, 31 August 2017.
Devereux, A. 2015. Timor-Leste’s Bill of Rights: A Preliminary History. Canberra: ANU Press.
GANHRI. 2018. Sub-Committee on Accreditation Report. Report and Recommendations of the Session of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) Geneva, 15–19 October 2018. Available at: https://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/GANHRIAccreditation/Documents/SCA%20Report%20October%202018-Eng%20FINAL%20.pdf.
Human Rights Watch. 2015. Thailand: Keep Independent Rights Commission, 3 February 2015. Available at http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/03/thailand-keep-independent-rights-commission.
Lorenzo, Johanna Aleria. 2011. Asian Rights, Asian Remedies: The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) February. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2694889 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2694889.
Muntarbhorn, V. 2013. Unity in Connectivity?: Evolving Human Rights Mechanisms in the ASEAN Region. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. See Brian Burdekin (2007), National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia-Pacific Region. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
———. 2014. The Southeast Asian System for Human Rights Protection in Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law, Scott Sheeran, Sir Nigel Rodley (Eds). London, Routledge, pp. 467–482
National Human Rights Commission ACT, B.E. 2542. 1999. Thailand.
National Human Rights Commission, Thailand (NHRCT). 2012. Summary of the Human Rights Situations and Performance Report of the Year 2012, Submitted to the Submitted to the Sub-Committee on Accreditation, International Coordination Committee.
———. 2019. Statistical Information on Complaints. Available at http://www.nhrc.or.th/NHRCT-Work/Statistical-information/Statistical-information-on-complaints/Yearly-(2010-Now).aspx.
Philippines House of Representatives. 2010. House Bill 2974, An Act Strengthening the Functional And Structural Organization Of The Commission On Human Rights, And For Other Purpose, First Regular Session, 15th congress, House of Representatives of the Philippines.
———. 2017. “Lawmakers to CHR: Denounce human rights abuses committed by criminals,” Press Release, 08 August. Available at http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=10169&key=COMMISSION%20ON%20HUMAN%20RIGHTS
———. 2018. 18th Congress. Available at http://www.congress.gov.ph/search/.
Rief, L. 2013. The Ombudsman, Good Governance and the International Human Rights System. Springer, pp. 104–105.
United Nations. 2017a. Compilation on the Philippines Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Twenty-seventh session 1–12 May 2017, A/HRC/WG.6/27/PHL/2. https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/philippines/session_27_-_may_2017/a_hrc_wg.6_27_phl_2_e.pdf.
———. 2017b. Compilation on the Philippines Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Twenty-seventh session 1–12 May 2017b. Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Philippines, Human Rights Council Thirty-sixth session 11–29 September 2017 Agenda item 6 Universal periodic review. 18 July. Doc. A/HRC/36/12.
UN OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. 2015. Technical Note on the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand in the draft 2015 constitution. Available at https://bangkok.ohchr.org/files/OHCHR%20on%20NHRI%20150327.pdf.
Wolman, Andrew. 2011. National Human Rights Institutions and the Courts in the Asia-Pacific Region, Asia Pacific Law Review, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/10192557.2011.11788250.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Asia Centre
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gomez, J., Ramcharan, R. (2020). The Protection Capacities of NHRIs in the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. In: Gomez, J., Ramcharan, R. (eds) National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1074-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1074-8_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-1073-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-1074-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)